Truckee Library to host Poetry Slam

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As part of the Nevada County Reads and Writes program’s 2013 book selection, the young adult novel “Marcelo in the Real World” by Francisco X. Stork, the Truckee Library will host its first-ever Poetry Slam on Friday, March 15, at 7 p.m.

Come with a poem of your own writing, and in true slam fashion, compete for gift certificate prize from Bookshelf at Hooligan Rocks and a cash prize. Entrants will place their names in a hat to enter the competition.

The theme of the Slam is “Coming of Age.”

A poetry slam is the competitive art of performance poetry, with a dual emphasis on writing and on how the writing is presented. Here are slam facts:

Five-minute limit

Spoken word only, no notes

Judges are selected from the audience

Judging is based on how well the poem is presented, how well the poem fits the theme, and whether it fits within the time limit.

Though the event is part of Nevada County Reads and Writes book selection with its many topics, the slam poems need only fit the theme of Coming of Age.

Participation is recommended for anyone over the age of 14. Please call the Truckee Library at 530-582-7846 for further information.

The Nevada County Reads and Writes program is a community effort sponsored by the Nevada County Library and the Nevada County Superintendent of Schools, wherein the community is encouraged to simultaneously read the selected book and participate in various activities. This year Truckee debuts with the Poetry Slam. For more information on the program visit www.mynevadacounty.com/nc/library.

This year’s selection, “Marcelo in the Real World,” involves legal drama, music, bullying, a love story, and the realities of life as a teen with a variety of autistic impairment no doctor has been able to identify. Marcelo Sandoval hears music no one else can hear, and has attended a special school where his differences have been protected. But the summer after his junior year, his father demands Marcelo work in his law firm’s mail room in order to experience “the real world.”